Tuesday, July 3, 2007

Peace Sign

Some folks have noticed lately that a sign on a building undergoing construction at the corner of Alameda Street and Stone Avenue has re-emerged.

The sign was just a big, gray blotch on the side of the building and is visible from second floor of the Alameda parking garage.

It's a leftover from the Vietnam protests and reads:

"Help end the war by Dec. 31, 1971 Join Common Cause"

"It's kind of a classic," Judy Nicholson, who works downtown, said. "I hope they don't paint over it. It's part of our heritage, and I enjoy seeing it."

The sign is visible from Nicholson's eighth-floor office in the Transamerica building. She and her officemates have been watching the construction and the sign over the last few weeks. They were afraid the sign might be destroyed in the midst of the construction.

But there's good news: The sign, which had faded since 1971, has actually been preserved to remain visible for the years to come.

Paul Mickelberg, an architect at the firm that is in charge of the construction on the building, said the sign was never intended to be removed.